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By grace through the means of faith

Wed Nov 10, 10 11:31 pm

Water well (God)
Water (grace)
You turning on the faucet or raising the bucket (you having repentance and faith and asking for salvation)

You can do all the awesome cooking works you want in the kitchen or around the well, but the water of saving grace won’t come until you repent and have the faith to turn on the faucet or raise the bucket! Believe, repent, trust, and ask!

Repentance (sorrowful turning toward God away from our sins and self-righteousness) and trusting faith in (toward) Jesus is the means through which the grace of salvation is applied.

Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Acts 20:21
“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 7:10
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

John 4:14
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

John 6:35
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

God-reliant

Sat Nov 06, 10 7:02 pm

Don't be self-reliant; be God-reliant. Without Him we can do nothing for God.

John 15:4-5
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

But with Him, as the famous verse says:

Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

And as the famous song says: "We are weak, but He is strong! Yes, Jesus loves me!"

Immoderation of over-moderation

Sat Oct 30, 10 6:47 pm

Taking everything in moderation is not being moderate in all things because it contradicts itself! It is more moderate to take some things in moderation, abstain completely from other things, and also take some things to unending bounds! How do we know how to take things? Read the Bible.

Take the needful things of the flesh in moderation, abstain completely from the sinful things of the flesh, and enjoy the spiritual things of God's love and heavenly rewards to unending bounds!

Commanded to hate and love

Wed Oct 27, 10 8:03 pm

Romans 12:9
"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."

Ephesians 5:1-4
"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks."

Romans 5:8
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Ephesians 2:4-5
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"

The order of God

Sun Oct 24, 10 5:34 pm

Acts 2:41-42
"Then they that gladly received his word (They were saved) were baptized (They were baptized): and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls (They joined the church). And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (They learned and practiced the things of the Lord)."

You can't skip one step and go to the next. You can't eat the cake before you bake it! You can't hope to enjoy or even understand the things of God if you are not following the order of God.

God's reasons or our excuses

Fri Oct 22, 10 9:45 pm

Ephesians 5:25
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"

If Christ sees it as important enough to die for, we should at least see at as important enough to attend!

Hebrews 10:23-25
"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

Naturally evil but loved

Wed Oct 20, 10 10:42 pm

Our nature is evil with no "spark of good." Our righteousness is only filthy rags before God. We can do no good and certainly cannot earn God’s salvation. What hope do we have?

Salvation cannot be earned but can only be accepted as a gift, and then we are "born again" and receive a new nature that is all good. We still have our old nature, but God can now work through us if we allow Him.

True good can only be performed within the will of God, by the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and by the authority of Jesus Christ.

1. To start out in the will of God, be saved and then join His church!
2. To know the leadership of the Holy Spirit, read God’s Word!
3. To have the authority of Jesus Christ, work as a member of His church of whom Christ is the Head, the Leader, and the Authority!

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Our nature and our "good works" without Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 2:2-3
"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

Romans 7:18, 8:8
"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

Isaiah 64:6
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

1 John 4:19
"We love him, because he first loved us."

In fact, we would never love God except that He loved us first. He knew this and still loved us. That is amazing love!

Our salvation:

Ephesians 2:4-5
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"

John 3:3
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Our new nature:

Colossians 3:9-10
"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:"

Romans 7:22
"For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:"

John 3:6-7
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."

How we bring glory to God by Christ Jesus:

Hebrews 10:24-25
"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

Ephesians 3:21
"Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."

The never of God

Mon Oct 18, 10 6:06 pm

Deuteronomy 33:27
"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."

Eternal means forever and cannot have conditions. Temporal means "lasting until ended" or "lasting unless ended." Can we or dare we put a condition on the eternal existence of God and make God temporal?

Why then do we dare to make His salvation temporal? God says the salvation He gives is eternal just like He is eternal. Forever as God exist, so does the security of our salvation. Salvation cannot be lost.

John 10:27-28
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

Authority of the standard

Sat Oct 16, 10 11:26 pm

There must be a standard by which to live.
There must be authority behind the standard for it to stand.
The authority must be above all for the standard to last.
What is your standard and what is the authority behind it?

Not fair

Sat Oct 16, 10 11:13 pm

How about having someone who did no wrong die instead...
and then having their payment for all your wrong doing be offered to you to accept via one small act of repentance and trusting faith... sound fair?